Have you ever made a purchase and regretted doing so? Yeah, sure we all have. But, have you ever regretted buying coins, bullion, or currency (supposedly knowledgeable) others have urged you to buy or highly recommended to others for purchase? :secret::secret: Maybe you snipped an Ebay auction which had been posted by someone and the item reportedly was a STEAL! Well, it sure seems you're the one who got stolen from, LOL... Maybe it's some numismatic item from the mint which others have 'hung the moon on' :bow: so to speak and you've regretted purchasing from the moment you laid your eyes on the actual item or items. Chuckle, let's hear about some of your coin-collecting goof-ups... Ben
"...once I thought I was getting a deal for a little bag of different size gold coins! But on the drive home I noticed they were starting to melt chocolate all over my car seat! Damn!"
Every once in a while I bid on something I"think" reads "1935," but when I'm notified of my winning bid, it's dated 1934 or 1936. But, since the 'price was right' I keep them in my 'error' purchases collection. Clinker
The 1797 large cent in XF and the 1812 in AU for $700 combined. Both were extremely dark and had some corrosion damage. (Ebay- the guy was unregistered within a week) They were still worth about $550 so the lesson was kind of expensive, but not backbreaking. Even with that screwup, it lead to a love of early copper where I did quite well with every other purchase, and ended up owning some phenomenal coins. Mike
One time when I just got back into the hobby I made the error of actually buying the slab insead of the coin. It was supposed to be a PR 69 Cameo quarter, PCI graded. I didn't have the knowledge I did then that I do know, but once it was all said and done under good light and everything actually turned out to be a PR 65/66 coin, far from cameo. Thankfully I only bought it for $20, and I returned it back for $15. So it actually not only taught me a valuable lesson, but I didn't have to lose a lot of money to learn that lesson. Phoenix
I don't ask for a lot of advice before buying coins, so I can't think of mistakes caused by the excitement generated by others. All of the mistakes were purely due to my own ignorance.
Only once on someone else advice - my fathers. He was dead set on buying a coin from a ebay seller. Needless to say we lost a bunch of money for no coin. Does this count? All of the rest of my mistakes are my own. Of course I know one person who did not follow my advice and bought silver eagles self-slabbed. Of course he only bought about 10-20 MS70's for 20 bucks each, but I could see faults on most of them that would drop them below 69(in my opinion only).
Guess I'm like Rotobeast. I've made a few dumb purchases of my own volition. As for advice I'll give it as many of you have seen me do. Advice is really just an opinion when one gets down to it though. How one takes advice is up to them in the long run. The best advice I give (I feel) to a newbie or someone even considering collecting is to be patient and learn.
i'm happy with all of my buys. the only thing i regret is buying uncirculated state quarters for 50 cents each from a dealer and uncirculated president dollars for $1.50 when i could have got them at the bank!:goofer: note to self: do not buy new coins!
I saw an auction that was right at the edge of ending and I wasnt sure if I was going to make my bid in time. I thought it was a 1931S Wheatie. Turns out I paid $36 for for an XF 31D. The auctions title said 31S but the description said 31D. Anyhow, I always read and then reread every description before making a bid, even if I might miss out on that great deal everyones always looking for.
oh yes I agree that the 31D is under rated. Thats one of the dates that Ive been trying to save. I have almost a full roll of 31D now. Sometimes I buy partial sets that I see going for cheap. Then Ill upgrade what I can of my sets, and then I take certain dates out of the set, the dates that have lower mintages that I save. And then I take whats left and Ill combine sets of what I dont plan on saving, and Ill stick it back on ebay and usually get more than I paid. More than I paid, after I take out what I want.
The key thing for me is that I tend to buy coins after falling in love with them for a while. I pay what I'm be willing to pay, not a penny more. The result is that I love all my coins but often pay extra for a coin I fall in love with, but I also get some great prices. It doesn't usually matter to me. Ruben
